The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do

September 20, 2004
When it comes to changing a tire, scrambling eggs, telling a joke or doing laundry, Ettus is no expert. (She's just the president of a brand-management firm.) But for this guide, she tracked down people who are, and asked their advice on everyday tasks. So former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige explains how to shake hands; make-up guru Bobbi Brown teaches how to apply lipstick; New York Times Company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. gives tips on reading a newspaper; and three-time U.S. Open winner Jennifer Capriati instructs readers on hitting a tennis ball. For better or for worse, Ettus seems to have allowed each contributor to insert some personality into his or her offering. Accordingly, the explanation on how to make a bed, from Tracey R. Henderson, the Holiday Inn Select Executive Housekeeper of the Year 2003, ends with a hokey"Show someone else the job you've done so that they can pat you on the back," while the lesson on tying a bow tie, from Tucker Carlson, co-host of CNN's Crossfire and an avid bow tie enthusiast, concludes,"Consider whether you really want to do this.... When you wear a bow tie, people will make assumptions about you." The result is a guide that's alternately lighthearted and serious, a coffee-table book of the most practical sort. 30 line drawings.

Starred review from November 15, 2005
Need to give the perfect kiss? Want to improve your listening skills? Fixating on making the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Let Barbara De Angelis, Larry King, and Debbie Fields advise you! Ettus has identified 100 everyday skills that most people wish they knew how to do, using experts to offer basic instruction for achieving excellent results. The topics cover simple household chores (making a bed, ironing a shirt, sewing on a button) as well as those activities that often baffle many of us (writing a note of condolence, smiling for a camera, brewing coffee, telling a joke). The advice is short, pithy, and often tinged with humor. Paula Parker and other readers vary the listening experience. For those few topics requiring diagrams (tying a bow tie or Windsor knot, using chopsticks), the enclosed booklet provides assistance -as well as an excellent index. Listeners will be able to dazzle friends and family with their newly acquired expertise. Highly recommended for public libraries." -Kathleen Sullivan, Phoenix P.L."

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.